Update: Catches of Atlantic salmon escapees are all over the news since this event occurred. Estimates of the number of escaped salmon are now as high as 160,000 – far higher than first guessed!

A reported net failure has enabled the escape of thousands of farmed Atlantic salmon into the waters of the San Juan Islands from a facility operated by BC-based Cooke Aquaculture. News reports here and here provide details.

Ron Warren, Assistant Director of the fish program for Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife said they believe about 4,000 to 5,000 of the 305,000 fish in the Cooke Aquaculture net pen escaped.

The fish are safe to eat and were last medicated with antibiotics in 2016, he added.

Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife is calling for anglers to catch as many of the Atlantic salmon as is possible. Nobody is thrilled about the opportunity, as most are concerned about the impact of an exotic species let loose in the wild of our west coast waters.

The image here is courtesy of DFO and may help you identify one of these escapees should you catch one:

A recently published study on Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy reveals some very real concerns.

…monitoring effort has continued to erode, abundance of spawning adults has significantly declined for several species, the status of many salmon Conservation Units are in zones of concern, and 42% of the Conservation Units that we assessed as Red (threatened) would have improved in status had the Canadian fishery been reduced.

The study concludes with five recommendations – and much more detail than is shown in this summary list – to the federal government of Canada and the DFO:

1. Conduct a strategic planning review of Conservation Units to meet the requirements of the Wild Salmon Policy.
2. Use a two-step approach to speed up the process for assessing biological status.
3. Achieve a balance between mixed-stock ocean fisheries and in-river fisheries targeting specific stocks.
4. Implement the existing WSP immediately.
5. Create a Wild Salmon Policy fund to ensure implementation.

The 8th World Recreational Fishing Conference will be held at the Victoria Conference Centre this year on July 16 – 20.

The conference unites the global recreational fishing community – providing an essential forum to discuss current research. Held every three years, this is the only international conference focused solely on recreational fisheries. The host organization for the 2017 conference is the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, in cooperation with the Sport Fishing Institute of BC.

The conference is not inexpensive to attend, and early registration has come and gone, but there are many sessions and talks scheduled of interest and value.

In Ottawa, June 15th saw the introduction of Bill C-55‘s proposed amendments to the Oceans Act, and complementary amendments to the Canadian Petroleum Resources Act.

The changes proposed in this Bill are aimed at facilitating the marine protected areas (MPAs) designation process without sacrificing sound science or the public’s opportunity to provide input.

The major improvements to the Acts are the ability to “freeze the footprint” of activity for a set time period in an area under consideration for protection; and when an area is designated as protected, the ability to cancel encompassed oil and gas interests while accepting the potential need to compensate the owners of those interests.

Conservation-minded groups in general see these proposed amendments as a good first step toward more effective protection of our marine environment than we have today.

With this Fishery Notice, the DFO has closed recreational salmon fishing in the entire Skeena River watershed until July 14, 2017. The low abundance of returning sockeye is stated as the cause. First Nations harvesting will be redirected from sockeye to chinook.

This news has been reported on the Houston Today website and on the CBC website.

The Skeena River sockeye run is one of B.C.’s largest, second only to runs on the Fraser River. Many in the area rely on work in commercial or recreational fishing and First Nations have used the sockeye as a food and ceremonial fishery for thousands of years.

The closure has prompted the BC Wildlife Federation to encourage its members to send a letter of protest to the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc’s ministry office.

Jim Glaicar, president of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, calls the move unreasonable. Glaicar said, “The Minister must manage the interests of all Canadians, based on open, transparent and science-based decision making. It is not appropriate management to suddenly change the percentage of fish that has been historically available to recreational fishers.”

From the Office of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, an email was sent by Ashraf Amlani, Special Assistant – Pacific and West Coast, in which it was made very clear that previously announced program cuts will not occur.

Let me reassure you that that there will be no reduction in CCG presence in inland waterways, that the dive team will remain at the Sea Island base, and that all elements of the Salmonid Enhancement Program will continue. This includes the continuation of the educational and technical contracts, the Resource Restoration Unit, and the hatchery production of steelhead and cutthroat trout.

Thank you, Minister!

News reports (and here) have said that the DFO has restored earlier announced cuts to the Salmonid Enhancement Program.

“There will be no reductions to the Salmonid Enhancement Program: all these programs will continue. This includes the educational and technical contracts that support Stream to Sea and Salmonids in the Classroom, the SEP Resource Restoration Unit, and the hatchery production of Steelhead and Cutthroat trout,” said Vance Chow, spokesperson for DFO.

If you fish the salt water and target chinook or chum salmon, you should be interested in participating in this webinar.

DFO would like to invite you to participate in a webinar from 10:30–12:00 PST on June 20, 2017 regarding management measures on prey availability resulting from the Review of the Effectiveness of Recovery Measures for Southern Resident Killer Whale. If you are interested in participating in this session, please respond by email at: sara.xpac@dfo-mpo.gc.ca by June 18, 2017. You may also register for this webinar at the following link:
https://gts-ee.webex.com/gts-ee/j.php?RGID=rcbb30d0de71a0f70a94cfbc0ecbf8e66.

The full fisheries notice is posted here.